All about headphones and earphones

Earphones or headphones, everyone has them, in their coat pocket or in their rugsack. As soon as we are out and about we want to enjoy good sound and fine music or an educational podcast. Wireless or not, attractive colours or precisely the simplicity of white, it is all possible in the world of headphones and earphones.

Sound experience with headphones or earphones

No single other stereo system can take on the sound experience via headphones or earphones. We know so many different varieties, both the classic in-ear plugs for iPhone, iPod or smartphone up to the sleek on-ear or over-ear headphones. These have already been a permanent fixture of the street scene for years. Thanks to the possibility of isolating all environmental sounds in a busy office or in public transport, headphones and earplugs create an experience of your favourite music as intense as possible. Various technical finesses with specialised suppliers such as AKG, Sennheiser and Beyer, just like the newcomers such as Denon and Beats by Dr Dre, add even more finishing touches.

Unique functions of headphones and earplugs

The fit is very important for the acoustics for both the in-ear models and the pad models. This is why with many models by for instance Sennheiser, Denon and Sony, the flexible earplugs are supplied in various sizes or special materials are applied. The extent of closure can vary considerably from model to model. For instance, for some models much attention has been paid to still be able to perceive environmental noise (in traffic for instance) and other models shut noise out completely, or have adjustable noise suppression especially for this purpose.

In busy environments, control of the sound source on the pad such as with Denon for instance, or on the cable such as with Sennheiser for instance can contribute considerably to the comfort. During exercise or travelling, an integrated microphone can also be very nice for keeping the call function of smartphones intact; JBL, Philips and Beats for instance offer models with this extra.

Wired or wireless headphones or earplugs

Cable length or wireless: where in living rooms or when monitoring, long cables such as from Beyerdynamic or AKG give the desired freedom, mobile use requires a much shorter cable. However, for frequent use at home, on the bicycle or during exercise, cables are more likely to be experienced as a nuisance. This is the reason that brands such as AKG, JBL, Denon and Philips, also sometimes for in-ear models, offer Bluetooth varieties in order to avoid the use of cables. However, the battery required does add weight but for on-ear models users do not find this a nuisance.

Earplugs or headphones with a high quality

Extremely low basses, perfect mid tones up to the highest frequencies are reproduced in an excellent way even by the simple models by Beats and Sennheiser. In addition, for the most critical amongst us and certainly for the professionals for whom every small deviation in reproduction counts, extra attention is paid to the smallest details. For instance, some manufacturers use very high-quality materials for both plug connection, cables and earpads with a minimum loss of signal or resonance.

What brand do you choose?

Do you want a particular brand? We have various top brands:

JBL | Shure | Skullcandy | Sennheiser | Apple | Sony